I learned something that blew my mind today…
I’m listening to the audiobook Atomic Habits right now. It’s a terrific book, one of those books where every line has you nodding your head and wanting to take notes.
While I listened to it today, this is what blew my mind:
“Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become.
“Imagine two people resisting a cigarette. When offered a smoke, the first person says “No thanks. I’m trying to quit.” It sounds like a reasonable response, but this person still believes they are a smoker who is trying to be something else. They are hoping their behavior will change while carrying around the same beliefs.
“The second person declined by saying “No thanks. I’m not a smoker.” It’s a small difference, but this statement signals a shift in identity. Smoking was part of their former life, not their current one. They no longer identify as someone who smokes.”
In other words, habit change starts with how you see yourself.
This reminds me of how so many CSRs see their identities:
Most CSRs talk about their job by saying “I just answer the phones.” Succes to them means working 40 hours a week answering the phones. Doesn’t matter if they only booked 30% of their calls… they worked 40 hours.
But that’s a horrible way to see your job as a CSR. You don’t “just” answer the phones…
You run the office. You control the schedules of the Service Professionals and connect customers with solutions to their problems!
And if you see your job like that, well, I guarantee your habits will improve, and so will your results.
